2018 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival

Hey Mouselifers! Today marks the first day of the 2018 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. The festival runs from March 2nd-April 12th and features delicious California cuisine.

Before listing this year’s Festival Marketplace offerings, I thought I’d share a quick rundown of some of our favorite items from last year’s festival.

If I had to pick a favorite Festival Marketplace, it would probably be Nuts About Cheese. My boys loved the Chèvre Fromage Blanc Tartine infused with Rosemary & Honey with Toasted Hazelnuts. This item is on this year’s menu as well so go ahead and give it a try. My favorite item, which is not on the menu this year, was the Baked Ham & Swiss Croque Monsieur Roll with Smoked Pistachios.

Another item that I really enjoyed from last year was from Seafood…Sustained. This isn’t one of this year’s Festival Marketplace but I want to mention it because it was probably the most surprising one. I decided to try the Cage-Free Cream Cheese Deviled Eggs with Farm-Raised Smoked Trout and Chives. I was not sure about this at all but it was surprisingly really good and ended up being one of my favorites. Don’t be afraid to try something you’re unsure about.

Besides the Festival Marketplaces, you can also make reservations for culinary demonstrations, winemaker and beermaster dinners, Celebrity Chef LIVE! at the Hyperion, and beer, wine, and spirits tasting seminars.

For kids, there is Jr. Chef. My boys participated in this last year. This is a free and fun experience for kids ages 3-11. There are a limited number of spots so you will need to line your kids up about 30 minutes before your desired time. With help from Chef Goofy, the kids take turns adding ingredients or mixing. At the end, all of the kids leave with a pre-packaged treat. Last year they made oatmeal cookies.

Now let’s move on to this year’s Festival Marketplaces and menus. There are 14 Festival Marketplaces; some of them are returning favorites and others are new. After you’ve taken a look, tweet us @MouseLifePod and let us know if you plan on attending this year’s Disney California Food & Wine Festival and what you’re most looking forward to trying.